Do you know what your spiritual gift is for the church? You don’t have to know, but if you are not doing anything to try to find out then there is a problem. Paul exhorts us to desire spiritual gifts, for our gifts are given primarily so that we can bless the body of Christ.
Within the body of Christ there should be a giving of our hearts to one another. This union in relationship is important because we cannot grow effectively on our own. No man is an island. Our growth will come from the conflicts and violations of relationship that will occur as we live our lives in proximity to one another. Iron will sharpen Iron. Sharpening requires that the rough edges are smoothed off. How can our rough edges be tempered if we are not in contact with other rough edges?
What is the extent of your fellowship with other believers? Do you just get together on a Sunday at church? Do you spend days or evenings with other believers? God’s solutions to the problems that we are in come from those in the body. The trials that we go through are often used later to encourage others in the same situations.
One of the hallmarks of the Pentecostal church is an emphasis on a baptism in the Spirit separate from salvation. There is no place in scripture where the believer is exhorted to seek a baptism in the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians Paul does exhort us to be filled with the Spirit. His exhortation is about what is in control of our lives, and not about being topped up with the Spirit.
A body is constructed of many different parts. A body cannot exist without differences between the parts. A body requires the differences to be able to function correctly. And so it is in the Body of Christ. We are not our own, but are part of the body for one another. We cannot function on our own, but need the other parts of the body in order to function as the Body of Christ. Christianity is not a solitary existence, but an existence of interdependence one to another, and full dependance upon Christ and His atoning work.
Every member has their part to play. Every member is important. There should be no one in the local assembly who is not functioning in the body. The biggest challenge for some people is understanding the calling the God has for them in the local assembly. Not every member is in a glamourous position. Like the human body has the eye, the ear and the mouth, so it also has the liver, appendix and colon. Every part plays a vital role, regardless of the perceived glamour of the role. Paul tells us that God esteems higher those who are fulfilling the roles which are not glamourous.
The parallels between the human body and the body of Christ run deeper. As within our bodies, when one thing is wrong it can effect the rest of the body. Conversely when something is running well, that is reflected throughout the whole body. This is how it is in the body of Christ. When something is not right, if there is division between members of the body, then the whole body is suffering.
We are baptized by the Spirit into one body, the Body of Christ. Paul tells us that the one body is comprised of many members. Why then do so many Christians run around independent of the rest of the Church? Why does division reign in so many local churches?
There are many examples where Paul exhorts us to be unified. This is just an echo of Jesus charging His disciples to love one another, so that the world would know that they are His disciples. We are to be of one mind, and that should be the mind of Christ.
Is there room for differences in the church? It depends on where those differences are and the effect that they have on the Gospel. There are some issues where differences can be ok. There are areas however we differences cannot be tolerated for to do so would change our understanding of God and His plan of salvation.
Guest Preacher Larry DeBruyn as part of The Vanishing Gospel conference
The Jews should have known that it was the time of the messiah, and Jesus held them accountable to know this. It would seem that we are close to the second coming of Christ: a literal, physical return.
When Paul was writing to the church at Galatia they had been seduced to embrace “another gospel”, which is not the Gospel. It is worth noticing that false teaching is often appealing to our flesh. The appeal of the ‘secret’ religions, such as masonry, is that there is something in them which can only be gained by being a part of the movement. This is Gnosticism at the core, and we are starting to see churches moving into this direction. They entice people to “know the secret things of God” which aren’t found in the Bible.
Our world today is based upon Platonic philosophy. Plato imagined that we could move from the real world below to the ideal world above through mystical contemplation. This philosophy and it’s variations has permeated the church today.
What will we learn about the church as we look at the body of Christ? Paul calls the Church “Christ’s Body”. Because of this, we would expect that there should be union and unity within the body, for without it the body cannot function correctly.
We all represent Christ on the earth, for we are Christ’s body. However the are different roles for each of us to play within the body. Paul emphasizes this by rhetorically asking if everyone is gifted in specific ways. Despite the list of gifts not being exhaustive, they do indicate to us that everyone does have a gift of some type for use in the body. So what are you for the body of Christ?
Where should we be exercising our gifts? Can a preacher walk into any church and start preaching? Can an evangelist float around without having oversight and discipline from a local church? Why then do we see people searching out the universal body over the local body?
So what is the solution? Paul covers this as his letter progresses. (Remember that there are no verse or chapter divisions in the original text.) Love is the solution. It is the more excellent way. What does the Church of Christ need more than for the body to show love to one another, and to the world around us. We should be seeking reconciliation and not division for our ministry is one of reconciliation.
What is this strange word, abide? What does it mean? And why did Jesus tell His disciples that they had to abide in Him? Our relationship with Christ is to be like a marriage. If we don’t communicate, then we cannot expect it to last. How do we go about abiding in Christ?
Here are a lot of mistakes made when reading the beatitudes, due to our tendency to read context through our theological background. If our theology is perfect there isn’t an issue with this. However only Jesus had perfect theology.
The point of the sermon in the mount was to correct the flawed teaching of the Pharisees. They taught that sin was what you did and not what you are. Jesus came calling the hearers to repentance.
The human heart is great at redefining the intent of the law. Instead of using the law as a guide to bring humility to us, we tend to use the law to exact retribution when wronged. What Jesus called the hearers of His message to do was to take the law and interpret it with love and kindness as the motivation.
There are many preachers who say that the world would be a better place if Christians would just follow the beatitudes. They are however missing the point of the sermon. What Christ was doing is reiterating in a more specific fashion what the moral law already said. He was pointing out the fallacy of the pharisee’s attempt to keep the law and attempting to drive them to repentance.
Matthew 7 flows through three sections. The first is about judging ourselves; the second is about judging others; and the third is about God’s judgement of mankind. Within these broad categories, we also are shown that there are two ways for each man to follow. We each must make the decision as to which path we take. We must weigh up the cost of following Christ, and decide if we are prepared to pay it.
The idea of two houses follows on from the idea of two trees, which in turn follows on from the idea of two paths. This progression shows us that there is a decision that all men must make about following Christ. From this decision flows the fruit of that decision. And finally we see that anything which is built upon Christ will stand the test of time, but that which is not built upon Him will eventually crumble.
There is an oft overlooked requirement of being as a wise man: acting upon the words if Christ. It is not just about reading, hearing and knowing what He said. If we are hearers only and not doers of the word, we are not followers of Christ.
There is a flow within Matthew 7 that there’s is a judgment to come. From this flow a number of themes. The first is that we are to judge ourselves. The second is about judging, in a manner of discernment, those who come into the church. Finally we are warned of the judgement of the world which God will render.
We have a general call to take the message of the Gospel to all people. From that point on, we are to be discerning about how we deal with those who profess the name of Jesus. Not everyone who goes to church is a believer. We are to be careful about the deeper teachings of the Gospel, being discerning that we are not casting pearls before swine.
The “golden rule” should be used as a guiding principle. It is not e starting point of theology, but the result of. It is not written as a vernal call, but as a call to believers. It tells us that we should deal with non-believers in love.
The picture of the narrow gate shows us that there is a cost of following Him. There is the path of least resistance: the broad way. It is the self regulated, self guided path. Where in our lives do we see the easy way out and take it? Is it in our devotions in the morning? Is it (in the context of the passage) around discerning the position of those around us.
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